Phil Goyette On The Rocket

What Phil Goyette accomplished in 1957 was nothing short of amazing. He was able to crack the Montreal Canadiens line-up, in the midst of their greatest dynasty, as a rookie. He made quite an impression, too, and he owed it all to one man.

Here's Phil Goyette's commentary from John Devaney and Burt Goldblatt's 1975 book "The Stanley Cup."

"Someone got hurt and they brought me up from the farm club for the last portion of the season. I got a five game tryout and I stayed with the club. To stay with the team they had in those days was quite a thrill. In the playoffs I got more ice time than I did during the season. They used to put me on and I did well, production wise and defensively, and everything went so well, they didn't take me off. I always had good playoff years.

"What helped me was playing with the Rocket. He was quiet, didn't say  much, but you could feel the tension inside him. You always had the feeling he would score the big goal for us. But we didn't rely on him. Often you yourself would get the big goal, or someone else would. That was because you were working twice as hard just to keep up with the Rocket. I think that's one reason why I got so many big goals for us in the playoffs. It was because of the Rocket."